7 Books You Must Read Before New York Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week starts next week. Are you ready to talk couture and discuss Anna Wintour? To make sure, we’ve put together a syllabus of what to read to make you a bona-fide fashion person so you don’t have to fake it ’til you make it! Here, a list of the essential fashion industry reads so you can confidently launch into conversation with any editor in the tents.
The Pioneer
Diane Arbus: A Biography by Patricia Bosworth
Known for being the photographer who took the deeply creepy black and white image of twins, Identical Twins, Roselle, New Jersey, 1967., Diane (pronounced dee-anne) Arbus started her career as a stylist working with the great Richard Avedon and legendary art director Alexey Brodovitch. (She was one of the first people to have the job before it was even had a name.) Arbus began her career dressing models on the shoots of her husband which led to a stint at The New York Times Style magazine. Patricia Bosworth’s biography provides insight into the role clothes played in Avedon’s photos and Brodovitch’s designs.
The Designers
The Beautiful Fall by Alicia Drake
The classic story of the decades-long rivalry between Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent. The feud started in Paris when a young Lagerfeld arrived from Germany around the same time Saint Laurent migrated from Oran, Algeria, and it was one of the longest, most productive and history-making vendettas this industry’s ever seen. Drake’s The Beautiful Fall charts the journey from their friendship in the 60’s to the end of Saint Laurent’s career in 2002. Highlights include stories of an overweight Lagerfeld being shunned from decadent parties in Marrakech, Saint Laurent’s creation of the iconic safari jacket and le smoking, as well as his championing of African models like Iman and Katoucha Niane.
The Editor
The first major fashion editor personality, Diana Vreeland created what is now known as The Costume Institute which led to the Met Ball. (She was also the inspiration for Funny Face's Kay Thompson.) Her columns titled “Why Don’t you?” were famous for advising the reader to indulge in luxuries like washing your child’s hair in champagne to preserve their blonde hair and, “Pink is the Navy Blue of India!” is one of her most famous phrases. Advising Jackie Kennedy on her wardrobe and discovering Lauren Bacall are just a few of her other accomplishments.
The Stylist
Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington
The general public fell in love with Grace Coddington after watching The September Issue. This memoir brings the reader back to a time when a stylist, photographer and model would travel for weeks on end with a small crew to make one beautiful picture. Unlike the business and self promotion driven stylists of today, Coddington revels in the art of the shoot and the creativity that takes place between photographer and his/her partner: the stylist. A great primer on the major players working in fashion photography right now as well as some fun tidbits on Vogue culture.
The Photographer
Helmut Newton: Autobiography by Helmut Newton
Famous for his bold, sexualized, and widely imitated images that influenced a myriad of photographers that came after him (Terry Richardson for one); the German photographer’s autobiography highlights his escape from Nazi Germany, his complicated relationship with June Newton his wife and collaborator, and the stories behind the conception of some of his most famous images.
The Critic
A Dedicated Follower of Fashion by Holly Brubach
Holly Brubach was the fashion critic of The New York Times before Cathy Horyn and this book is a collection of the essays she wrote while there, but also at The New Yorker and The Atlantic. Like any talented critic, Brubach relates what’s going on in the world to fashion. One memorable essay laughs at the thought of Karl Lagerfeld taking over Chanel, while another charts the rise of homosexuals and their influence in the fashion community.
The Model
Much has been written about that fateful moment in which Storm agency’s Sarah Doukas discovered Kate Moss at JFK airport. Many believe it to have been serendipitous, but most don’t know that Doukas didn’t think much of Kate Moss and left her polaroid in a “Maybe Drawer.” Champagne Supernovas tells the real story of how the photographer Corinne Day found said polaroid and nurtured and developed Kate’s career, turning her into one of the best and most iconic models of all time. Also featured in the book is the parallel journeys of designers Marc Jacobs and the late Alexander Mcqueen.
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